AFP to pursue complaint against Sueselbeck

From InterAksyon (Oct 25): AFP to pursue complaint against Sueselbeck

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr awarded a plaque of recognition to an Army non-commissioned officer detailed as security personnel to murder suspect US PFC Joseph Scott Pemberton, an American soldier implicated in the killing of a Filipino transgender in Olongapo City.

Technical Sergeant Mariano Pamittan was cited for his professionalism and restraint during an incident on Wednesday (October 22) at the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board facility where PFC Joseph Scott Pemberton was being detained.

Pamittan was the on-duty soldier guarding the facility when Mr Marc Sueselbeck and Ms Marilou Laude, the fiance and sister of the murder victim,  Jeffrey Laude, intruded and and forcefully shoved Pamittan after climbing the perimeter fence.

Sympathy

While Pamittan expressed sympathy to Laude's family members who forcibly entered the compound that he was guarding, he stood pat on his duty and mission.

"I sympathize with the family because they lost a loved one. I also want them to have justice and closure for their loss. However, I have a duty I must fulfil, which is to secure Pemberton, who also has his rights. That is why despite their misbehavior, I exerted tolerance," Pamittan said of the incident.

"Our camp commander, Brig. Gen. Arthur Ang, directed us to exercise maximum tolerance," Pamittan added.

He said that he tried to reason with Mr Sueselbeck that he was entering a restricted area and, therefore, could get arrested for it. Foreign nationals have to undergo a rigid clearance process before being allowed to enter a military base.

"I told him and Marilou that they are intruding into a restricted area. I warned them that I could arrest and detain them in our stockade," Pamittan said.

Pamittan said he was also conscious that Filipinos could observe the incident through news and media teams present in the vicinity.

With the intercession of Brig. Gen. Ang, the intruders and their supporters submitted themselves to a peaceful dialogue.

A native of Enrile, Cagayan, TSg Pamittan, 44, a Scout Ranger, belongs to a clan of soldiers, where over 20 of his relatives have joined the military to serve the country. He is married to Myrna Pamittan (38) and they have six children.

Complaint

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces said on Saturday that it is bent on filing a complaint against Marc Suselbeck, the German fiancé of transgender murder victim Jennifer Laude despite his making an apology for scaling a perimeter fence and assaulting the Filipino guard at the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) detention center inside AFP General Headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Laude was killed on October 11 in Olongapo City and the principal suspect was the US Marine, Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, who is detained at MDB-SEB.

On Wednesday, members of the Laude family, Suselbeck and private counsel Atty. Harry Roque illegally entered the area on grounds that they want to see Pemberton.

AFP Chief-of-Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang wants the German deported as his action "assaulted the dignity of the country."

"The AFP will still send the letter (detailing Suselbeck’s misdemeanors) to the German Embassy and the Bureau of Immigration," AFP Public Affairs Chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said.

If the BI should rule that what Suselbeck did was wrong, he stands to be deported and possibly prevented from returning again.

For the meantime, Cabunoc said, the AFP is keeping tight watch on the MDB-SEB to ensure that Suselbeck will not repeat his actions there again.

He was assigned in various conflict areas all over the country, particularly in Northern Luzon, Visayas, Sulu, and in Central Mindanao.

Pamittan was the 90-RR gunner during the all-out war against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2000.

He was in a heavy fighting against the numerically superior and entrenched MILF members during the siege of Camp Abu Bakar during which his company commander, then Captain Samuel Manzano, was bleeding profusely after being hit by an enemy sniper.

Pamittan in another heavy fighting in Brgy Dicamay Uno, Jones, Isabela against New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in 1993 where his executive officer, then Col Lawrence Mina, was badly injured.

The Scout Ranger units where he belonged at that time emerged victorious in these encounters.

He also learned valuable experiences out of these violent incidents in his life.

“I’m lucky because even after my years in the service and these encounters, I did not sustain even a minor injury,” Pamittan said.

“I was also able to reflect that, as Filipinos, we shouldn’t be fighting each other. We should just talk about our problems,” he added.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/97937/afp-to-pursue-complaint-against-sueselbeck